Line Officer's Main Concerns During Response To A Fire During A Winter Storm

[x635 4,066]

Just wondering what goes through your head while you're responding to a working fire during a winter storm?

I know there are a lot more components during a snowstorm to apparatus response protocol, size up, apparatus positioning, etc. What extra thoughts and plans do you take with you when responding?

[Alpinerunner 61]

I'll throw out some things: Are hydrants buried? Is your static water source frozen? Are you going to attempt a push with the rig up an unplowed driveway?

[JM15 386]

One important thing is notification to the highway department for plows and sanders... especially sanders once the operation progresses to take care of the ice.

[38ff 250]

In additon to all the above, the durring and after the incident is very important to extended ops..

Getting cold/wet firefighters warm and rehabbbed. The hardest thing is keeping tabs on people at the "non fire ground" sites.. Do the guys at the draft site and your fire police have warming beverages???? The fireground usually takes care of itself as the chief is there to see firsthand whats going on, but it's the off site people that can be forgotten about in the heat of battle.

Your Ladies Aux might come in to play here big time, and save the day when the hot coffee and soup arrives on scene.

Some other stuff is: Keeping closed nozzles cracked a bit to prevent freezing. Will you need a pickup or flat bed tow truck to pick up "externally frozen" hose so it can be repacked at the station? Your probably not going to want to do it outside...

If engines are called for manpower and arent pumping, is the MPO recirculating to prevent pump freeze up?

Do you have a warm meal being prepared if it's that time of the day at an extended incident for when you get back in quarters?

Taking care of people is key in the cold..

Edited January 6, 2011 by 38ff

[firecapt32 282]

The three mopst imporant things going through the officers mind--snow storm--rain storm--summer heat wave.

1-will my firefighters get here safely.

2-will my firefighters do the job they were trained to do in a safe and efficient manner.

3-Will my firefighters return to their loved ones safely.

keep thoses things in the front of your mind.

[kurt 5]

Well first thing that goes threw my mind being a past capt is how long is it going to take my people to safely get to the fire and how long before my 2nd alarm crews will take to get to me can these people even get out of there driveways maybe think about a plow to get these members out of there driveways to get to call.

[Tanker 10eng 140]

One of the things I think about is the location of the call and just how deep the snow is... If its a snow storm of 10 + inches, I will normally jump in our tanker to respond with that, even in our Village areas with hydrants... This way we have 3000 gallons on hand in case the hydrant is buried or un able to locate one...

[conman 40]

When I was an officer (even still now) I always ran through my head what day is it, that way i would have some idea of what my man power was going to be. So that would make my determination on mutual aid. Is my draft site plowed out and accessable for my mutual aid, can we get to the location, if not then what do we need to get there, as for rehabi dispatch Mobile Life Support Services for their S.O.R.T truck. for those who don't know it's their Special Operations Response Team, they cone with an EMT and Medic for Rehab.

[Posa 103 2]

Remember.....You can stretch hose....you cant stretch a ladder. If only one rig can make it down the block, make sure its the ladder company. Dont want the engine to get stuck and block out the truck.....

[Remember585 815]

Extra manpower. That's one of the key things in my mind during responses in the inclement weather.

This past winter we had a few fires, and a couple of things were good learning experiences for me.

At fire #1, we had downed power lines and tree limbs in the road in front of the building. The first arriving Engine saw this and instead of pulling past the fire building, stopped short to steamer a hydrant. The Truck wasn't able to get the front of the building, so several portable ladders were thrown.

Additionally, the building was an auto body shop on the main level, with an apartment above. The apartment entrance came out on the back of the fire building on to another street. We special called another Truck to go here and position in the event we needed them. (Luckily we didn't)

The roof guys had to shovel snow out of the way of their vent holes. In an earlier post on this fire, someone mentioned how the weight of the snow could hamper roof stability. Luckily this was a building built years ago with real wood beams on real stone. It was a safe enough construction which allowed the guys to open up, giving the guys inside some much needed relief.

At fire #2, we had a fire in a masonry building up a long, steep driveway. The first arriving Engine "dug in" and came up the hill dropping supply line on it's way. They had to park about 150' from the fire building, so the stretching of lines in nearly waist high snow was exhausting. We still had chains on the rigs and this was 3-4 days after the snow fell. Prior incidents have kept us from being too quick dropping the chains, knowing we have quite a few driveways like these that aren't cleared too often.

Additionally at this fire, as Tanker10Engr mentioned, our closest hydrant (at the bottom of the drive) was apparently the go to location for every plow. The next closest hydrant was about 500 feet down a windy road which the 3rd Engine brought up to the 2nd Engine at the bottom of the driveway. Luckily the bulk of the fire was K/D with the tank water of both Engines (1750), and we needed a steady supply to finish the job. We called a Tanker task force to supplement the delay in hydrant access and to accomodate the low pressure we were getting.

As a responding Officer, no matter the weather or incident type, the #1 concern is our safety. We can't control the weather, but we can sure as hell do our best to prevent injuries from fatigue and overexertion.

[firemoose827 324]

Its tough enough to get people to take a break in normal conditions but now you need to look out for hypothermia and frost bite. Rotate crews often and have some dry gloves and hoods on hand. Check in your area for rehab tents that have heaters and showers and what not, this helps to warm a big group of people up in a hurry.

Nozzles and hose freezing up, pumps freezing. Ice from run-off water. Ice on ladders and other surfaces from misting hose lines.

It was mentioned earlier about having to wade through 2 and 3 feet of snow to stretch a line or place a ladder, this will take that crew out of service for a few minutes due to exhaustion, especially if its the wet heavy snow that takes extra effort to walk in even when its just a few inches. Placing ladders will be dangerous, and may not even be possible due to the snow which hampers egress and FAST operations.

A key factor that I think was not mentioned yet is the hidden dangers that the snow will cover up, like in ground pools and wells and other dangers that we can fall into.

You haven't had a winter fire until you have a Schoharie County Winter Fire!

[Remember585 815]

You haven't had a winter fire until you have a Schoharie County Winter Fire!

Isn't it winter from September to May up there?!